Reason Foundation

Congress Should Use the Public Option

The President laid out a plan last week for health care reform. Now Congress gets to take up the task of writing a bill. Part of the President's plan is this idea of a "public option" for health insurance. Essentially this will be another insurance company, but specifically for those who can't afford insurance now (or are percieved to be unable to afford it). The political reality of healthcare reform is that something is likely to go through, but there are things than can be done to make it less worse.

One way to limit the damage of a public option would be to force all members of Congress to be able to use it. Representatives and Senators are infamously known for having a spectacular health care plan. They could either just open the current Congressional insurance plan up to the poor—which is unaffordable and never going to happen—or they could tie themselves to whatever they come up with.

If the public option is going to be so great, members of Congress should be a part of it. If it is not, then why would we subject other American's too it?